Chapter 1 – Rhiannon
“Come on, I never get a night off!”
My best friend Leo rolls his eyes at me before reluctantly taking the shot glass I’ve set in front of him and knocking it back. I know it burns from the grimace that his handsome face makes, but I don’t care. It’s my twenty-eighth birthday, and finally I have a rare night off from the multiple jobs that I juggle.
Which obviously means that tonight, we’re celebrating.
“Yay!” I cheer, loud and carefree like a child, because right now, that’s exactly how I feel.
I’m buzzing with energy, on my first night out in a long time in New York City and riding the wave of good vibes and tequila. If I could bottle up this feeling, I’d mist it on myself each morning like my favorite perfume.
“You’re going to get us in trouble,” Leo says with a chuckle.
“That’s the whole point.”
I never really get to let loose anymore. My life doesn’t leave room for that. Most days, I’m either juggling one of my demanding, soul-sucking jobs, managing my younger sister’s schedule since I’m basically her full-time parent, or working with my older brother to scrape together enough to keep our family afloat.
What other twenty-somethings do on a Friday night? I couldn’t tell you. Movie night in? Hit some dive bar? Date? I wouldn’t know because I’m doing none of those things. That world feels light years away from mine, like a life I was never invited to live.
While everyone else my age is out doing whatever normal people do, I’m usually sitting at the kitchen table with Gabriel, our worn-down calculator between us, empty coffee mugs scattered around. We’ll go line by line through bills and paychecks, trying to stretch what little we have, figuring out which late notice we can risk ignoring this month.
When the electricity bill is two months past due and we need to ask for leniency, it’s me who’s calling the company, begging for an extension and making promises I know I can’t keep.
And when the pantry needs restocked, I’m the first to head to the store.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not even hopeful most nights. But it’s ours. The three of us—Gabriel, me, and my little sister, Eden—crammed into the same old house we grew up in with the blue trim, trying to keep the lights on and the family thrift store from going under.
Sometimes, when the house gets quiet after everyone’s gone to bed, I’ll catch myself wondering what it would feel like to justbreathefor once. To not have every thought tied to a dollar sign, every plan tied to survival.
But then the feeling passes, because daydreaming doesn’t pay the mortgage.
“So, birthday girl,” Leo teases, his eyes twinkling. “What do you want to do tonight other than get drunk in the city?”
I take another, long swallow of my tequila, trying to forget the last time I drank in New York City and what ended up happening later that night. I don’t want to think about that tonight, but some memories have a way of reappearing when you least expect them and at the worst times.
“I’m not sure.”
He nods as if he’s reading my mind. “Well, tonight feels like the perfect night to do something you’ve never done before.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“How about we catch a movie at Bryant Park? They’re showing that new action flick everyone’s been raving about.”
I learn forward eagerly. “The one with Vanessa Mayers in it?”
He nods with a wide grin, clearly knowing that’ll get my mind off things. He’s right.
“Ugh, she’s so hot.”
He chuckles. “I know you love her. The showing starts at eight. We can sneak that bottle of whiskey that I know you have tucked away in your purse.”
“You’re not going to ditch me, are you?”
He grins. “Only if Chris calls me.”
I smile because Chris is the only person that I’d let Leo ditch me for.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
